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THE AMERICAN ILLUSION |
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Jay Gatsby vs.
Willy Loman |
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"...It was what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interests in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men"
(Fitzgerald, 7). |
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At first glance, The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman do not seem similar at all-the tale of a larger-than-life socialite chasing a superfluous woman does not seem to match the tragedy of the common man's fall. Yet, the two have one thing in common, and it is the concept of the American Dream. Both men wholeheartedly believe in this dream and cannot tear themselves away from its promise of instant wealth. Yet, it is pertinent to note that both men's strong belief in the monetary aspect of the American Dream brings their downfall. For Jay Gatsby, his dishonest means of making a living and lack of social responsibility equate to his death. For Willy Loman, the focus of this project, it is this constant desire to be wealthy and just like Jay Gatsby that kills him. Both men fail to realize that the American Dream is more than Ali Baba's cave. The failure to realize this leads to the demise of both men.
It is also interesting to note that F. Scott Fitzgerald and Arthur Miller, although writing twenty years apart, criticize this concept of the American Dream. Both authors do not believe in its mystique, and suggest that it is more of a hoax than a dream. Perhaps both were disillusioned, as they were writing after World Wars. But both authors felt strongly about the role of money in the Dream, in that it is what ultimately destroys the dreamer. |
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"He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night..."
(Fitzgerald, 189). |
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Jay Gatsby, top;
Willy Loman, bottom |
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"Will you let me go, for Christ's sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?"
(Miller, 1609). |
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thanks to "*smashmethod" at www.deviantart.com/view/15915481 for background |
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